3D Name Tag Generator
Name tags are the print people actually need in quantity: a conference, a classroom, a kitchen, a shop floor. Type a name, get a thin printable tag with the letters raised off a backing plate, and repeat for as many people as you have. Designing and previewing is free.
Make a name tag
Starts at 3 mm thick on a condensed font, which keeps a worn tag light and readable. Thicken it for a badge that has to survive a workshop, or thin it further for something clipped to a lanyard.
Name tag sizes
Tags are read at conversational distance, so they can be much smaller than a sign. These are letter heights, with the tag body sized around them.
10–12 mm
Conference badge
Readable at arm's length. A first name lands around 60–80 mm wide.
8–10 mm
Staff or apron tag
Small and light enough not to sag on thin fabric. Keep it under 15 g.
15–20 mm
Classroom desk tag
Read from the front of the room. Add the standing base so it props itself up on the desk.
12–15 mm
Locker or bin tag
Fits most label slots. Print six or more per plate.
Slicer settings for tags
Thin, flat parts print fast but need a bit of care on the first layer and on how you get them off the bed. These settings are a reliable starting point.
Layer height
0.16 mm
Slightly finer than default. On a 3 mm tag the letters are only a few layers tall, so the extra resolution shows.
Infill
20%
A tag is nearly all perimeter and top/bottom layers anyway. Above 25% you are only adding weight.
Per plate
8–12 tags
Arrange a whole team on one bed. Sequential printing is unnecessary — they are flat and short.
Print time
12–20 min each
About 4–7 g of filament per tag, so a 20-person conference costs well under two dollars in PLA.
Printing a whole team in one go
Generate an STL per name, then import all of them into a single project in your slicer and use auto-arrange. Because tags are short and flat there is no collision risk with the gantry, so you can pack the bed properly rather than printing one at a time. On a 256 mm bed, ten to twelve conference badges fit comfortably in one two-hour print.
Attaching the tag
For clothing, a magnetic badge back glued to the plate is the option nobody complains about — no pinholes in a good shirt. Neodymium badge magnets are cheap and bond well to PLA with superglue or two-part epoxy. For lanyards, leave the base on and drill a 4 mm hole through the top edge after printing; drilling is more reliable than trying to bridge a hole in a 3 mm part.
Making the letters a different colour
Insert a colour change at the layer where the letters lift off the backing plate. On a 3 mm tag with 0.16 mm layers, that is usually somewhere around layer 12–13 — your slicer's preview shows you exactly which one. One filament swap gives you a two-tone tag with no multi-material hardware.
Material choice matters more than usual
A tag that lives in a car, a kitchen or a summer marquee should not be PLA — it softens around 55–60°C and a dashboard in July gets past that easily. PETG holds up to roughly 80°C and is barely harder to print. For a tag that stays indoors, PLA is fine and gives crisper letters.
Name tag questions
Can I make tags for a whole class or team?
Yes. Generate one STL per name and arrange them together in your slicer. If you are making more than a handful, the subscription works out cheaper than paying per download.
How thin can a name tag be?
3 mm is a good floor for a tag that gets handled. You can go to 2 mm for something that stays put, but below that a long tag flexes and eventually snaps at the thinnest letter.
Can I add a pin or magnet?
Not in the generator — the STL is the tag itself. Glue a standard badge magnet or pin back to the reverse after printing; both bond well to PLA and PETG with superglue.
Will small letters actually print legibly?
Down to about 8 mm letter height with a 0.4 mm nozzle, yes, if you use a block font. Script fonts need roughly double that before the thin strokes resolve.
Can I sell the tags I make?
With a subscription, yes — commercial use is included. A single download is for personal use only.
What if I don't have a printer?
Download the STL and send it to an online print service. Our 3D printed names page walks through how that works and what to expect.